Fans of Wegmans are highly anticipating its opening of five stores in the Raleigh, N.C., area, for which hiring efforts have begun. "When I go visit family and friends up north, we have to do the Wegmans run, we have to visit a store," said former Wegmans employee Kellie Ford.

Wegmans has begun hiring and training an estimated 500 staff members for its first New York City store, expected to open this fall. The Brooklyn location will feature a second-floor mezzanine with cafe seating for about 100 diners.

People magazine's 50 Companies That Care list, which highlights exemplary workplace practices, includes two food retailers, Wegmans Food Markets at No. 11 and Nugget Markets at No. 50. "When we care about each other, help our customers and give back to the communities where we operate, everything else seems to fall into place," said Wegmans CEO Colleen Wegman.

New York-based Wegmans Food Markets is looking expand its presence in North Carolina with a second store in the city of Cary, according to preliminary plans filed there. The retailer announced in January that it would open its first store in North Carolina in Cary, and Wegmans also said it is looking into several potential store sites in the Raleigh-Durham market.